Latvia had EU's fastest-shrinking population last year

Latvia's population shrank at a faster rate than in any other European Union member state in 2018, according to data published by Eurostat July 10.

The largest population decrease was recorded in Latvia (-7.5 per thousand residents), followed by Bulgaria and Croatia (both -7.1‰), Romania (-6.6‰) and Lithuania (-5.3‰).

The population of the entire EU increased by 1.1 million people (+2.1‰) during 2018 with the population increasing in eighteen EU Member States and decreasing in ten.

The largest population increase was observed in Malta (+36.8‰), ahead of Luxembourg (+19.6‰), Ireland (+15.2‰), Cyprus (+13.4‰), Sweden (+10.8‰), Slovenia (+6.8‰), Belgium (+6.1‰), Spain and the Netherlands (both +5.9‰) and the United Kingdom (+5.6‰).

Bulgaria (15.4‰), Latvia (15.0‰), Lithuania (14.1‰), Romania (13.5‰) and Hungary (13.4‰) recorded the highest death rates. Among the fifteen EU Member States which registered a negative natural change in 2018, deaths outnumbered births the most in Bulgaria (-6.6‰), followed by Latvia (-4.9‰), Lithuania (-4.1‰), Croatia, Hungary and Romania (all -3.9‰).